Forgetting the Planting
by mommanerd
Summary: Mid-Season 4. Something magical has hit Storybrooke, but nobody can remember. It's those cursed memory spells at work again. Except this time, Emma discovers she's got a surprise brewing, and really, really wishes she could remember the details. The idea is based on the line Hook threw at David in the middle of season 3, "Almost harvest time and you can't remember the planting."
1. Chapter 1

The first thing Emma noticed was her jeans. They were tight. She'd had to lie back on her bed to pull up the zipper, and then had to give up completely on fastening the button.

She checked the time, and she was running late, as usual, so she settled for pulling her sweater down over her waist, and then grabbed her jacket on the way out of her room.

Her mother was puttering around in the kitchen, getting a bottle ready for the baby. "Mary Margaret, did you wash the clothes in hot water yesterday?"

"No, same as usual." She looked up to smile at her daughter. "What are your plans for today?

Emma slipped her arms into her jacket and started to zip it up. "Following up on another lead to find Anna. Henry thinks he found…" She looked down, puzzled, as the jacket fastener wouldn't go all the way up. "What the hell is going on with my clothes?"

"Problems?" Mary Margaret asked.

"Yeah, well first my jeans and now this jacket. It's like I grew a few sizes overnight." And it was true. The jacket gaped over her chest and the zipper was refusing to budge. She gave up, making a mental note to skip the bear claw today. "Oh well, I don't have time to fight with this right now." She gave her mother a hug. "I'll see you later. Give the baby a kiss for me when he wakes up!"

* * *

><p>Hook entered the Sheriff's station, carrying a box of doughnuts. Emma had a fondness for them, and it gave him an excuse to drop in. Things had been going well with his lady love, but they weren't quite yet to that place of being together without cause. Or, at least, Emma wasn't quite ready to accept that truth just yet.<p>

Emma was on the phone, and the conversation wasn't going well.

"Slow down, Mom. SLOW DOWN."

He could hear raised and urgent tones coming across the device that Emma has plastered to her ear, but couldn't make out any of the words.

"I'll be right there. But you're sure he's okay – like healthy okay?"

She drew the phone away from her ear and pressed the button to disconnect. She put it in her pocket and then ran her fingers through her hair, agitation signaled through everything she was doing.

"What is it, love?"

"Mary Margaret says there's something wrong with the baby." Her gaze traveled down to the white box in his hand. "Are those doughnuts?"

He grinned at her, "Aye!"

She grabbed the box and unceremoniously threw it into the trash bin. "I can't eat those. I'm getting fat."

The woman had gone daft on him. "You look lovely, Swan. You're radiant, even."

But she was still keyed up. "Everything is wacky around here today. Look at this." She marched over to her desk. "Someone has messed with my calendar. The months of December through March are gone, and there are notes all over April." She looked up at him, wide-eyed. "I haven't made any notes for April, but it looks like my handwriting."

"Perhaps you've just forgotten in all the Snow Queen craziness."

"_Forgot that I wrote this for April?_" She pointed at one of the empty jail cells. "And Will is gone again, too."

Hook didn't know if it was worth it to try to placate her. "Didn't your mother pardon him?"

"That was last week. This week he…" She stopped rambling, looking angry. "What are we doing, standing around talking like this? I've got to get home and find out what's going on there."

Of course! He moved aside and held the door for her. "After you, Swan." He made a show of sweeping his hook toward the opening, and admired Emma's curvy backside as she passed by. It certainly did appear to be a bit rounder, but he found it to be quite fetching. He caught up with her outside. "What exactly did your mother say was at issue with the infant?"

"Infant," she repeated back at him. "That's the problem. Neal is crawling – and he has teeth!"

* * *

><p>The Volkswagen stopped with a jerk in front of her parents' apartment building, and Emma scurried out, with Hook close behind her. They were inside and up the stairs in a flash, with David waiting for them by the inside door.<p>

"The baby is fine," he was saying. Good old Dad, always trying to be reassuring.

"If accelerated growth is your thing," Emma said.

Snow was cuddling the child, who was gurgling happily and gnawing on his fist.

"He's just so big!" Snow was saying.

"That's a healthy lad," Hook added.

Emma inspected Neal closely. The baby grinned up at her and she noted the two bottom teeth that were fully in place and little white nubs starting to poke out from the top gums.

"Muhmuhmuhmuhmuh," baby Neal said.

"Is he talking?" Emma asked her mother.

"I think so," Snow said. "He's been calling me Maaa, and David is Da."

Hook moved over to stare at something out the window, and the baby beamed at him too. "Ooooog!"

"Killian," Emma said, "I think he just called you 'Hook.'"

He muttered something under his breath that sounded like bloody hell, and kept staring out the window.

"What is it? Killian?" Emma looked over to David and they joined the pirate by the window.

"Look at the trees, Swan."

"Well I'll be…" Charming added.

"They're budding," Emma said. She looked over to her mother. "I think it's Spring!"

"No!" Snow said. She slowly sat down, holding the baby even tighter. "How did we lose the entire winter?"

David crossed the room to sit beside her and drape an arm around her shoulders. "We will figure this out, Mary Margaret. At least everyone seems to be okay."

Emma was about to weigh in on that, when a wave of nausea overtook her. She ran to the bathroom and lost the breakfast she hadn't taken time to eat. She dropped down on the floor and leaned back against the cool porcelain of the bathtub. Hook had edged past her father in the doorway and was reaching down to cup her cheek, concern filling his eyes.

"You okay, Emma?"

"I don't think so," she said. She'd only ever felt like this one other time, and she'd been a lot younger and in prison. Her heart started a rapid staccato in her chest as she looked up at him.

"I think I'm pregnant!"


	2. Chapter 2

Hook barely had time to register her words before feeling the hard grip of the prince's hand on his shoulder, lifting him and spinning him around to receive a harsh blow to his jaw.

"Dad!" Emma gasped.

David glared at Killian. "What did you do, pirate?"

Hook took a step back and rubbed the offended side of his face. He smirked into that glowering face and put on his best swagger. "Well, mate, considering you have a few offspring of your own, I think you know."

The man advanced on him, but Emma was back on her feet providing a barrier between them with a hand on each man's chest. "Let's not do this just now, okay guys?"

He immediately felt a pang of remorse. Emma wasn't feeling well and there she was, acting the moderator over their posturing. "My apologies, love. Perhaps we need to get you to a more comfortable place." David was still seething, but he backed off. His wife, holding the child, was now also in the confined space of the bathroom. Emma was pale, but had that that stubborn set to her chin.

"What's going on in here?" Mary Margaret asked.

A muscle flexed in David's jaw. "It would seem that our daughter is…with child."

She gasped. "Emma?"

Emma pushed her hair behind her ears, "Hey, why don't you and Dad go out and wait for me for a few minutes?" She glanced over to Hook. "Killian and I need to talk."

David muttered that they'd done enough "talking" as far as he was concerned, but he responded to the hand his wife placed on his arm and left the room with her. Hook should have felt some relief, but instead felt something akin to apprehension uncurling inside his chest. Emma was still looking a bit worse for the wear, and he wasn't really processing this latest development.

"Okay," Emma started, "Now we're alone and I don't have a clue what to say."

"I suppose there aren't published rules of conduct on this sort of thing," he told her.

She seemed to be fumbling for words. "I don't know how this happened."

Hook tilted his head to the side, considering. "My guess would be that we went on a second date."

"You're awfully sure of yourself."

Ah, her little grin was back, just a touch, lifting the corners of her mouth. He leaned toward her. "I know the effect I can have on women when I choose to press my advantage."

"Really?" she said. "Then you'd think I'd remember _something_, wouldn't you?"

It was a harsh truth. If they had made love, after two years of doing this dance of theirs, it should have been something momentous for both of them. He let go of the breath he'd been holding, "Sadly, love, neither of us is privy to the event."

"So you don't remember anything, either."

He shook his head. "I remember some passionate kisses," he reached down to find her fingers, entwining them with his, "and some very enjoyable touches, but sadly, nothing beyond."

Her fingers tightened on his. "Same here."

"So what do we do now, Emma?"

She inclined her head, a spark settling into her lovely eyes. "We find out what happened to cause all this and we get those memories back."

* * *

><p>Her parents were side by side on the couch. Neal wasn't with them, so she supposed he was down for a nap. Thank goodness Henry was at school. Emma didn't know how much more talking or explaining or anything else she could take right now. Honestly, she just wanted to curl up and sleep. But that wasn't going to happen.<p>

"Well?" her mother said.

Killian brought over a chair for her and she gratefully sank down onto it. Right now she was wholeheartedly regretting that she'd thrown those doughnuts away this morning. Killian seemed to understand without her telling him, and he said he'd go find her one of those infernal Pop Tarts that she seemed to be so fond of. He was in the kitchen, rummaging through the cabinets.

"We don't remember anything," she said. "I know that we found the scroll from the Snow Queen and that she was out to make a new family for herself with me and Elsa." She paused to search her memories, but couldn't come up with anything else. "That's all I've got."

Killian was back, handing her a pastry and a glass of milk. "There was the bit about the mirror," he reminded her.

"Mirror?" Snow asked.

Emma took a nibble of Pop Tart, and nodded. "Yes, something about a magical mirror that she had, and she planned to shatter it and turn everyone in the town against each other, so that it would only be the three of us left." She sipped at the milk. Wow, she didn't remember milk ever tasting quite this good before.

David stood and began to pace, running a hand through his hair. "Why does this sort of thing keep happening? Aren't there any spells that don't involve messing up everybody's memories?" He stopped and glowered at Killian. "And anyway, since nobody knows what happened, you might want to consider that this baby could belong to somebody else."

"It's mine!"

"It's his!"

The vehemence of their duel interjections allowed no room for debate on that count.

"Well then," Mary Margaret stood and gave her husband one of her take no prisoners looks. "We are going to get to the bottom of this. Let's head out into town and see if we're all in the same boat with the memories. We can check with Regina and Mr. Gold and also see if there's anything else going on."

Killian was nodding his agreement and David was already collecting everyone's coats, and her mother started packing up the baby gear. Emma stood. "Mom and Dad, you head out to check with Regina. The last thing I can remember is that I'm not exactly her favorite person right now. Killian and I will go talk to Gold."

"That may not be the best course of action," Killian said.

"You're coming. You know him better than anyone."

* * *

><p>Bloody hell, the last thing he wanted to do was go another round with the Crocodile. He hadn't been entirely forthcoming about their interactions regarding his hand, and the Dark One was not to be trusted, particularly where he was concerned.<p>

"Emma…"

"You're going."

"I doubt he will be helpful."

She stopped suddenly and turned, taking him unawares. "What aren't you telling me?"

He considered his words for a moment, and she narrowed her gaze. "It's just that, as of late, some of our past differences have…"

"I can tell if you're lying."

"Your super power."

"It's a thing!"

He intended to tell her, but not at the present time. "We will talk, but not now," he looked around at the other citizens of the town, who all seemed to be realizing that things were not as they should be. "And not here in the middle of the bloody street. The dwarves are notorious gossips."

"Fine." She turned back around and looped her hand through the crook of his elbow. "For now we are going to interrogate Gold, and then later we can have our chat."

They entered the shop, which was as dark and dingy as ever. Hook had been in brigs that had better ambiances than this place. Gold was nowhere in sight. Emma marched over to the counter and smacked the top of the bell there.

There was a bit of commotion in the back, and then Belle emerged. "Emma?"

"Hi, Belle. We were wondering if we could talk to your husband."

The woman's eyes grew large. "I'm sorry, but I don't know where he is! I've been looking for him. But there's no note or anything."

Hook couldn't help himself. "Did you try the dagger?"

For a moment, anger flashed in her eyes as she looked over to him, but it passed and she turned back to Emma. "I can't find the dagger either. I don't know what to do."

"I'm sorry, Belle," Emma said. "We are trying to find out what's going on. We think our memories of the last three or four months have been wiped, so Gold was the first one we thought of."

"I wish I could help you," Belle said.

Hook moved forward to join the women. "Perhaps you could," he said. "You may not have the Dark One's powers, but you're well-read and have been around many of his spells."

Emma nodded. "Maybe you could come with us. I want to go to my station and check a few things. There were some notes on my desk that I probably should have paid more attention to."

"Okay," Belle agreed.

The station wasn't far, and upon arriving Emma went straight over to the calendar she'd lamented about earlier. She and Belle studied it, and Hook took note again of how lovely Emma looked. Pregnancy suited her. The thought made him unreasonably happy.

"What are you grinning at?" Emma asked him.

Before he could answer, Bell pointed to some words on the calendar. "Look, Emma, right under April first. It says 'MM – memory stone.'"

"I don't remember writing that and I don't know what it means."

"I do," Belle said, "At least part of it. The memory stone is something that the Rock Trolls create. They must have left one."

Hook moved over to join them, reading the words for himself. "The letters, 'MM' – Swan is that…?

"My mother!" she said.


	3. Chapter 3

"_I have it_?"

"Yes, Mom, it was right there in my own handwriting," Emma said.

They were back at the loft. David had called her to let her know that Regina's memories had been altered as well, and that she had no more of a clue about what happened than anyone else in the town did. Belle had returned with them, deeply worried that Rumpel's disappearance was tied in with the events. Emma didn't doubt it for a moment.

"What exactly is a memory stone?" Mary Margaret asked.

"I can explain it," Belle said. "The Rock Trolls make them from the memories that have been hidden from you. A long time ago, some of my memories were hidden because I'd seen my mother die."

"Did you get them back?" Emma asked?

Belle shook her head. "Unfortunately, no. The stone was lost, broken, before I could use it. And the stone can only be used on the person whose memories made it. So in this case, it's Mary Margaret."

"But why me?"

Emma removed her jacket. It felt so warm in the loft, and she was starting to get queasy again. "Let's just look for it. Once we find it we will get the answers we need… and I'll be right back!" She ran to the bathroom and hoped that this time everybody else didn't follow her in there. By the time she emerged, they were whispering.

"You guys, no need to act weird. It's just a baby thing."

"You're having a baby?" Belle asked.

"It would seem so." Hook answered her before Emma had a chance. He was grinning again. Stupid idiot pirate. She was probably knocked up because he'd taken advantage of her while she was distracted by his blue eyes or something.

"Emma!" Belle ran across the room to embrace her, and for some reason it made her want to cry. Hormones were a bitch. Emma hugged her back and marveled about how much easier it was becoming for her to accept the friendship of the people in this town.

She pulled away and smiled at Belle. "Let's get to finding this thing. What does it look like?"

"Mine was blue," Belle said. "And about the size of an egg."

"Hummingbird or golden goose?" Hook asked her.

Belle eyed him warily. "Chicken."

"How about we stop discussing and start finding," David suggested.

"No need," Mary Margaret exclaimed. "I have it." She held out her palm, holding the smooth, glassy stone that glowed white, like a pearl. She blushed lightly. "It was in my jewelry box."

"What do we do now?" David asked.

"The troll told me to make a tea with it, and that after I drank it my memories would be returned," Belle said.

Mary Margaret was already in the kitchen preparing the drink, and Emma sank down on the couch, glad for a few minutes to rest. Killian was next to her almost immediately.

"Can I get you anything, love?"

She yawned. "I'm just so tired."

"Mate!" he called out to David. "Should we call the doctor to come and check on her?"

"I'm fine!"

For the first time all day, her father looked at Hook without something menacing in his expression. "Mary Margaret was always really tired with both babies. It comes with the condition."

Killian still looked uncertain, so Emma gave him a reassuring pat on his shoulder. "I guess you've never been around anyone pregnant before, huh?"

"No."

"Three hundred years…?

"Most of it spent on Neverland with a tribe of prepubescent lads."

"And Tinkerbell," Emma said. She regretted it almost immediately. That was something she definitely didn't want to think about right now. Thankfully, her mother chose that moment to announce that she thought the tea was ready.

* * *

><p>Hook really didn't want to leave Emma's side, but Snow White had swallowed the beverage, and was decidedly wobbly. He joined the prince to help catch her, and they placed her on the sofa next to Emma. Not that David really needed any assistance, but Hook was feeling uncomfortably unnecessary.<p>

Snow opened her eyes and looked past her husband, narrowing her gaze on him. "Hook, you're back!" She turned to Emma, beaming. "He's okay – you did it!"

"Did what?" Emma asked

"Where did I go?" Hook asked.

"Oh, sweetheart," Snow took Emma's hand. "Things were bad. So very bad. The Snow Queen turned everyone against each other. It was horrible."

"And you all?" Hook asked.

"Everyone was affected by it, even David and me." Snow told him. "It was awful."

"And what of the Snow Queen," Hook pressed on. "Was she defeated?"

"Give her time!" the prince said.

Well, their détente hadn't lasted long. "Fine, mate. You ask the questions."

"No, it's okay," Mary Margaret said. "I think…I think I'm not supposed to tell everything. The Rock Trolls took the memories on purpose, because they didn't want everyone to know what they'd done to each other."

"So what about Killian," Emma asked. "Where did he go?"

"Oh, Emma," she said. "That was the worst part. The Queen wanted to hurt you so that you would go with her." Snow looked up at Hook and he could see the pain welling in her eyes. Fear gripped him, an unusual emotion for him, even when faced with his own mortality. But this concerned Emma.

"Tell me," he gritted out.

She tightened her grip on Emma's hand. "She was so evil and you were in her way. We all spent months trying to stop her and the games she was playing with our emotions with her spells. But she couldn't make you give up on Emma. So she took you."

"Where?" Emma asked.

Mary Margaret shifted her attention back to her daughter. "The Snow Queen said that you would never leave with her if you thought there was any hope for happiness in Storybrooke, so she trapped Hook in her mirror and told you that you had to choose. Emma, if you decided to free Killian, she would freeze everyone in the town, or you could choose to save the town, and leave with her, trapping him in the mirror forever."

"Bloody hell!" Hook exclaimed. The truth of it made his blood run cold. "So the reason you were so surprised to see me here…"

Snow nodded, openly crying now. "She chose to save us."


	4. Chapter 4

The baby had woken, and Snow left to tend to him. Emma looked over to Killian, unsure of what to say. There was obviously way more to the story, but just the fact that she'd chosen to lock him into that mirror for eternity had her questioning everything she thought she knew about her – about them.

As usual, he read her emotions. "We'll get the rest of the tale, love, and then we can delve into what it means."

David had run out to get everyone sandwiches and to pick up Henry from school, so they had some time while her mother and Belle laughed over something Neal was doing. Emma looked up at Killian, but found she was unable to meet his gaze. He was trying to reassure her, and all she could think about was that she had betrayed him.

He rolled his head back and sighed, and then dropped down beside her. "Look, you can't blame yourself."

Emma shook her head. "I just need to know more." She looked up at him again, this time looking for signs of anger in his face, but she didn't find anything other than concern there. "What if we find out things were even worse than what we know about now?"

He reached his arm around her, his hook gently rubbing against her shoulder, and dropped a soft kiss onto her hair. "We do know that I'm here now, and some people might take that as a good omen."

"True." She allowed a small grin and leaned her head against his shoulder, finding some reassurance in the solid reality of the man by her side.

The apartment door opened and Henry came in, followed by David. Henry ran over to Emma first and asked if she was okay. Her father had pretty much filled him in on everything and he had a ton of questions.

"Seriously, kid, you know as much as we know. Mary Margaret still has to finish filling us in."

"And you're going to have a baby!"

Emma nodded. "Looks like it."

Mary Margaret and Belle brought Neal over, and Henry goggled at him. "He got big!"

Snow grinned. "Yes, he did. Do you want to hold him?"

"Sure."

They all settled down to eat, and after making sure they were all ready, Mary Margaret continued her story.

"We were all there when she confronted you, Emma. And you were so strong…"

* * *

><p><em>"You must choose, Emma," the Snow Queen told her. "If you don't want to leave your pirate I can free him so you can be together, but the people of this town will pay the price."<em>

_She had already frozen them. They were all standing around her like statues, their eyes locked forward, seeing but unable to move. Only Elsa and she were unaffected. "How can you do this?"_

_The woman looked at her with so much sadness in her eyes. "My spell showed the true nature of the people here. Do you really think they're worth saving? They all lie and cheat and take from each other. They use you and act like you owe them. I'm just offering to give you what will make you happy."_

_Emma looked into the mirror, seeing Killian staring out, yelling her name over and over. But she couldn't hear him, just could see his lips forming her name," Emma…Emma!"_

_"Choose, Emma."_

_"How can I?"_

_"It should be simple. Do you love him?"_

_A tear formed a pathway down her cheek, followed by a second and a third. She swallowed hard, and turned to face the woman. "Of course I do."_

_"Then choose him."_

_"And what would you get out of that?"_

_"At least I would know that you turned down my offer for the sake of true love. But if you were to choose the inhabitants of this town instead, then you would be selecting me and what I can teach you. Nothing and no one would be able to stop us. Elsa would come as well, because what else would she have?"_

_"You're wrong!" Emma said. "I was brought here to be the Savior, and I have to believe that my destiny is more important than your crazy desire to force us into your family."_

_Elsa moved to stand beside her, reaching to grasp her hand. She was not alone._

_"I choose them, because that's what I have to do."_

_"Be honest, Emma. You are taking my offer because you know I will put you first. Your parents have another child, so they don't need you anymore, and your son has another mother."_

_"No," Emma said. "I care about all of these people, and I won't go with you, not ever."_

_"Nor will I," Elsa said._

_"Fine!" The Snow Queen waved her hand at the mirror, and the glass frosted over, obscuring Killian. "There you go, Emma. You can live out your life in this town without the person who loves you the most, and your child will never know his father or the world I could have made for us."_

_Emma could no longer hold back the tears that streamed from her eyes, but it was done. She felt the firm grasp of Elsa's hand urging her on. Emma nodded, and as one they raised their palms and blasted the Ice Queen. So much power! She'd never felt anything like this before. She and Elsa continued the onslaught, until, finally, there were just the two of them standing together, looking at the thick frozen monument that now stood before them._

_The Ice Queen was trapped inside a wall of magic that they had created._

_Slowly, behind them, the people of the town began to move. The spell was broken. Elsa beamed at her. "We did it!"_

_Emma had been burned by overconfidence before, but this time, it felt right. The amount of power that had surged through her was not like anything she'd ever experienced, and the spells had been broken. Everyone was unfrozen, and nobody was fighting._

_"I think we did."_

_Her parents were there, hugging her, and so was Henry._

_But where was Killian?_

_The mirror still stood. Still frosted. Elsa looked at it warily. "Why didn't this spell break?"_

_"Because, Dearie, this is your spell, not hers." Mr. Gold was there, and for the first time seemed to be affording her some respect._

_"So I should be able to break it, right?"_

_"Miss Swan, if you attempt to shatter that curse, your beloved will surely die."_

_Emma's heart sank. "You can help me."_

_"Alas, no," He shook his head. "And don't get me wrong – this isn't because of any past rancor between your dear captain and myself, it's simply that this spell was created from a great personal sacrifice, and the only thing that can break that is an act of true love."_


	5. Chapter 5

"And that's how you defeated her," Mary Margaret said. "Emma, you'll never know how proud we are of you."

Everyone seemed overcome by emotion, but Hook found he couldn't ease the smile from his face. Emma had confessed that she loved him in front of the whole of Storybrooke and nothing else seemed to matter.

"But what happened to the Snow Queen, and to Elsa?" Henry wanted to know.

"Oh, that," Mary Margaret said. "It turns out that the Rock Trolls had been hiding around town all along. Those statues that we were all walking past every day…"

"Those were the actual trolls?" David asked.

"Yes. After Emma and Elsa let loose with their power, they revealed they'd come to help."

"You spoke to them?" Emma asked.

"To the leader, yes."

"That was Grand Pabbie," Belle said. "He's the one who tried to help me."

"He told us that they could take the queen and Elsa back to Arendelle. Many spells were broken after the evil was defeated. They knew where the queen had hidden Anna. That's all Elsa needed to know."

Emma frowned. "But what about the mind wipe?"

Snow sighed. "There is a lot of history back in their land, related to Elsa and what happened with the Snow Queen and her sisters. They want to protect everyone there, so I promised to keep those parts of what happened secret." She paused and looked at Emma with deep affection. "Emma, we all hurt you and those memories are gone, too. One day, maybe we can face that together."

"But not right now," Emma said.

"And so they changed the memories of everyone here," Hook surmised. "That's all well and good, but what about the dashing man in the mirror? How did I escape?

Emma nudged him in the ribs with her elbow, and he took that as an invitation to pull her closer. "Mr. Gold said something about an act of true love," Emma said.

"And where is Rumpel?" Belle asked.

Mary Margaret held up her hands. "I will tell you what I know about the stone and the spell, and I think I know now how it was broken."

* * *

><p><em>"So what am I supposed to do?" Emma asked. "True love's kiss the mirror?"<em>

_Her father moved to stand beside her. "I don't think that will work. It didn't with Frederick,"_

_"When this is all over, someone is going to tell me about Frederick. Right now, I need to figure out how to get Killian back. He's the only one who…I just need him."_

_"I understand." Her father looked up at Gold. "Do you have any ideas?"_

_"None," he said. "Only Miss Swan can access what is in her heart."_

_Emma heard a grinding sound, and turned to see a large round stone rolling toward her. It stopped and she realized she was seeing a very short sort of man with a thatch of green hair that she had mistaken for moss._

_"Who are you?"_

_"That's Grand Pabbie," Elsa said. "He's the king of the Rock Trolls, and they are the family of my future brother in law."_

_"Your sister is marrying a rock?" Emma asked._

_"He's adopted," Grand Pabbie said. "But young lady, I think I can be of some help to you in your quest."_

_"How?"_

_He went on to explain about their country and their need to take care of their inhabitants. They had a place for Ingrid and would help her, but they would also help to heal the town._

_"We will create a stone for one person here, to know the history and the reason for our secrecy. It must be someone who is utterly trustworthy and will put the needs of others ahead of their own."_

_Emma stepped forward. "Since I'm the Savior, I guess that's me."_

_"Perhaps it isn't and perhaps it is not, but it is your decision."_

_"So let me get this right, whoever gets the stone will get to keep all of their memories, and everyone else will forget that the last few months ever happened?"_

_"That is correct, and we have one other request of you."_

_"And that is?"_

_"There is a magical hat in the possession of the one you call Mr. Gold. He goes by many names, but the hat does not belong to him. We will need that as well."_

_"That isn't going to happen," said Gold. "Miss Swan cannot help you obtain that."_

_The Rock Troll studied him silently, and then said, "Our magic is tens of thousands of years old. We have our ways of taking care of what is ours."_

_"We will see about that," Gold said._

_Grand Pabbie turned away from him, and back to Emma. "So, my dear. Have you decided who will remember and who will not?_

_Emma looked to her parents. "Mom, Dad – what should I do?"_

_Snow took Emma's face in her hands, "Sweetheart, we can't undo the mistakes we've made, but you have some good memories of this time with Killian. We might have messed up and not been there for you like we should have been, but he always was, and you were happy." She reached around to embrace Emma. "You're going to have his child, and you should remember that and how that child was created from love. You need to have the stone."_

_Emma closed her eyes, and hugged her mother tightly. "And what about you, and baby Neal?"_

_Snow stepped back, "What about us?"_

_Emma took her hands. "We've all lived with the pain because we lost our time together. You shouldn't lose any more time with a child."_

_"Emma?"_

_"I can't undo our past, but I can make sure you don't miss anything else. I love you, Mom. The stone will be for you. That's my decision."_

* * *

><p>"Wow," Emma said.<p>

"I agree," said David.

"Am I still in the bloody mirror?" Hook asked.

Mary Margaret laughed, and her bright smile beamed up at all of them. "I think that Emma broke the spell!"

"With the stone?" Emma asked.

"Sweetheart, you showed true love when you put my needs ahead of yours. At the time you were so hurt and angry with me, and you chose me anyway."

"Did you see Killian break free?"

"No. As soon as you chose, the deal was done. We were all back at our homes, not knowing that anything had changed."

Hook nodded. "True. I woke up this morning and headed off to buy you some doughnuts." He turned her around and kissed her right there in front of her parents and son. If he lingered over the embrace longer than propriety allowed, they would just have to understand.

Emma finally pulled away to gulp in some air. "I suppose I really shouldn't have thrown those away, now that I know what you had to go through to bring them to me."

"Perhaps it's best that we don't remember all the nasty details," he said.

"But, what about Rumpel?" Belle asked.

Hook had forgotten about the librarian, and it appeared that Emma had, as well, judging by the surprise that flickered across her face.

Snow shook her head. "Belle, I wish I could tell you, but I don't know."

Hook looked over at the sweet woman, whose face was crumbling over her uncertainty and loss. "If I may," he began. Belle nodded, so he continued. "Rumpelstiltskin is many things, but most of all, he is driven to have what he thinks will assure him of control over his life."

"Yes, that's true." Belle said.

"Then he is assuredly on a quest to regain what was taken. If I know the Dark One, he found a way to escape with his memories intact."

"But then why would he leave me here, alone?"

Emma spoke up. "Because in his way, he loves you, Belle, and he's going to try to do what he can to prove it."

Belle nodded. "I can see that. I just wish, for once, he could trust me to work with him."

"Trust is a long journey," Emma said. "He just isn't done with his yet.

Hook pulled her close again, and buried his face in her hair, taking in the scent of his fair princess. Gaining her trust, and her love, had been well worth his sacrifices, and they could live without those missing memories. The future was theirs and, as for the memories, they would just have to make more.


	6. Chapter 6

"I do think, in all likelihood, Swan, that it was you who seduced me."

"How do you figure?"

"Well, you always were the one to make the first move. For instance, that kiss in Neverland."

"You asked for that."

This had become their daily ritual, to speculate over the when and the why and the how and the where of their child's conception. They would come up a wildly fanciful theory on Monday, just to replace it with something mundane, but more probable on Tuesday. Sometimes Emma would create a scenario so wickedly erotic, that Killian would have to act on it, and sometimes Killian would present an option so sweetly romantic that Emma would melt into that girl who she'd almost forgotten under the layers of self-protection she had spent years constructing.

Today they were contemplating possibilities that lay somewhere in the middle of those two extremes. The sheriff's station was empty, and they had just finished their lunches while they waited for David to come back from his rounds. It was the perfect time to play their game.

"Just imagine, you found me half frozen and shivering after a brutal encounter with that Ice Queen, and had to drag me back to my room and scrub me down under a hot shower." Killian said.

"Wouldn't that shower have warmed you up?"

"Oh, not all the way, love. I was still chilled through, you see, so you had to lay beside me in my cold, lonesome bed, and keep me warm through the night."

"Or I could have just gotten you an electric blanket?"

"Is that a real device?"

"Lucky for you, you probably won't ever have to find out."

He laughed, and raised an eyebrow at her. "Your turn."

"Okay," Emma considered for a few seconds. "How about this one: We had a terrible fight because you wouldn't listen to me."

"I always listen to you."

"You charged into her evil lair and made a mess out of things and I had to fix it."

"Tell me how you fixed it, love."

"I yelled at you and told you what you should have done, and instead of apologizing, you starting taking off my clothes."

"In this scenario I was wearing your clothes?"

"You know what I mean."

"Aye." He grinned and leaned over to kiss her.

The bell by the door chimed, and David and Mary Margaret came in.

"Again?" David said.

"Shh," said Snow. "It's sweet."

Emma patted her rounded tummy. "We're just trying to decide on which version to tell this kid when he…"

"Or she," Hook added

"…finally arrives."

"Oh, that again," Snow said.

"Also," Emma said, "We need to get around to setting that wedding date."

"Anytime is fine with me, Swan."

"Are you still going to call me that when my last name is Jones?"

"I guess that's another topic for debate," Hook said. "But I say the sooner, the better. We've let far too much time pass as it is."

They continued with their back and forth banter, and Snow grinned up at her husband. "David," she whispered. "That thing I told you the other night – you haven't told them yet?"

He leaned down to whisper in her ear, "You mean about the fact that they're already married? No."

"Why not?"

"Because," he said. "One memory I never want to lose is walking my daughter down the aisle to marry her true love."

"Oh David, that is so sweet."

"Yeah," he said. "I have my moments."

~End~


End file.
